The mass shooting in Orlando has taken at least 50 lives and over 50 more people are still fighting to survive in area hospitals.
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Equality Florida, an LGBT civil rights organization has opened up a GoFundMe page to raise money to support the victims of the attack.
From the group:
“We are reeling from the tragic news that a gunman opened fire on the 2am capacity crowd at Pulse leaving 50 people dead and over 50 injured according to Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer.
We are heartbroken and angry that senseless violence has once again destroyed lives in our state and in our country.
Gay clubs hold a significant place in LGBTQ history. They were often the only safe gathering place and this horrific act strikes directly at our sense of safety. June commemorates our community standing up to anti-LGBTQ violence at the Stonewall Inn, the nightclub that has become the first LGBTQ site recognized as a national monument.
We have received a steady stream of emails and messages from those seeking to help or to make sense of the senseless. We make no assumptions on motive. We will await the details in tears of sadness and anger. We stand in solidarity and keep our thoughts on all whose lives have been lost or altered forever in this tragedy.”
As of 12:00 PM EST, over $21,000 has been raised out of a goal of $100,000.
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Is Video Game Addiction A Real Thing?
Much like gamers themselves, instances of gaming addiction are often stigmatized.
While stories of deaths stemming from three-day gaming binges in internet cafes are hyped in media coverage, gaming addiction in the United States is more often characterized by someone sacrificing their work, school and social life in order to progress in the digital space.
Psychologists such as Douglas Gentile at Iowa State University have studied video game addiction for decades and asserts that our access to broadband internet and the spread of technology have only increased addiction numbers.
Gentile believes that the global gaming addiction rate falls somewhere between 4 and 10 percent of gamers.
Who is and isn’t addicted is often hard to determine, as researchers offer contrasting definitions of what constitutes addiction.
In an interview with CNN, Gentile says games become compelling because they satiate our basic human needs for autonomy, belonging and competence.
Games put you in control, they can offer a sense of community and most games have skill curves that allow players to feel successful while playing.
Recent additions to modern games include systems designed to keep the player engaged through unpredictable reward systems.
Games such as Destiny have been called out for their random number generator (RNG) loot systems that randomize the rewards dropped for players after completing a mission or objective.
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Titles boasting millions of players such as Counter Strike: Global Offensive, Rocket League and Overwatch feature cosmetic items that are unlocked through a system that most closely resembles a slot machine.
In Call of Duty, items that bear a significant impact on gameplay are obtained through this same RNG system, giving an edge to players able to obtain higher-tier items.
Those unable to secure the best rewards are encouraged to keep playing or spend even more money on a micro-transaction system to gain an edge over others or secure coveted in-game items that hold little to no value outside of the digital game space.
Through these examples, one can assume that not only are modern games hooking players with feelings of empowerment and belonging, but the addition of systems that closely mirrors gambling has created a dual threat of addiction for gamers young and old.
But statistics and insights from psychologists only go so far in explaining the real-world impact gaming addiction can have on an individual.
Speaking from personal experience, I can recall how detrimental my teenage gaming binges were when I would sometimes spend more than 24 hours at a time playing a single game.
I would ignore school work, reject spending time with family and not leave my house for days.
The concept of these marathon sessions weren’t taboo in my friends group.
We would boast about having more than 1,000 hours logged in a game.
It wasn’t uncommon for us to lose literal days of our lives to these online experiences.
I’ve met people well into college with close to 3,000 hours played in an online multiplayer game.
They commonly have the propensity to brush off criticism about their time invested with explanations like “It’s the only game I play,” and “I still get my work done”.
But life isn’t a game, and too much time spent in the digital world can be detrimental to your health, work and social life.
This is all coming from someone who runs his own gaming website, who hosts a gaming and tech talk show at his college and has poured months, if not years of his life into video games and the culture encompassing them.
I’ve seen how gaming can foster creativity, establish connections between generations and empower the physically disabled.
But I’ve also witnessed the impact being too deeply enveloped in a particular game can have on a person.
I’ve seen friends fail classes, fracture relationships and miss out on amazing opportunities, all because they couldn’t pull themselves away from the TV or computer screen.
Although gaming addiction has no fixed definition, its credibility as a real issue in the present day should be undisputed.
The complications gaming addiction creates may originate from time spent in a digital space, but the effects are tangibly existent in reality.
There’s no reset button for the real world.
RISE NEWS is a grassroots journalism news organization that is working to change the way young people become informed and engaged in the world. You can write for us.
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This Woman’s Suicide Nearly 15 Years After Her Husband Was Falsely Accused Of Kidnapping Elizabeth Smart Proves How Devastating Botched Justice Can Be
The widow of Richard Ricci, one of the original suspects in the Elizabeth Smart kidnapping case, was found dead at her residence on Dec. 18, according to Deseret News. It was later determined to be an intentional prescription drug overdose.
Following her death, Angela Morse Ricci’s son Trevor Morse created a GoFundMe page for the funeral expenses.
“The official cause of death was suicide, but I believe she died from a broken heart,” On it Trevor Morse wrote on the GoFundMe page.
Back in 2002, Salt Lake City authorities pinpointed their main person of interest in the Elizabeth Smart case as Richard Ricci, the Smart family’s handyman.
Nine days after Smart was abducted from her home, Ricci was arrested for violation of parole in the 1983 attempted murder of a police officer. He was charged with burglaries near the Smart house that were similar to the break-in that led to Smart’s disappearance.
A month after his arrest, Ricci suffered from a brain aneurysm and died three days later on Aug. 30, 2002.Until Smart was eventually found and Brian David Mitchell and Wanda Barzee were arrested in March 2003, Ricci remained a prime suspect after his death.
Morse described his step-father being falsely accused further on the GoFundMe page:
“He was convicted by the police and the public, and was intensely interrogated, all the while trying to tell anyone who would listen that he was innocent.”
“Since the day Richard Ricci died, my mother’s broken heart never healed,” Morse wrote on GoFundMe.
He explained the toll it took on both of them, but highlighted his mother’s unrelenting love throughout, stating that she stood by her husband and continued to make time for loved ones.
“Her house was open to anyone who needed a place to stay,” Morse wrote on the social media fundraising website.
Claiming her husband’s rights were violated, Ricci sued for wrongful death. The suits were later dismissed.
In 2004 she received a settlement of $150,000 from the Utah Department of Corrections.
Utah did not recognize any wrongdoing on its part however, the Deseret News also reported.
“Since the day Richard Ricci died, my mother’s broken heart never healed,” Morse wrote on GoFundMe.
RISE NEWS is a grassroots journalism news organization that is working to change the way young people become informed and engaged in public affairs. Anyone can write for you us as long as you are fiercely interested in making the world a better place.
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Adele Releases New Song, Internet Barely Holding On
Adele released a new single earlier today on Youtube and people the world over are hyperventilating.
The song is titled “Hello” and it is from the superstar’s upcoming album 25.
Take a listen. But please don’t pass out. That would be just embarrassing.
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Cover Photo Credit: Screenshot- Adele/ Youtube (Vevo)
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